Search - special

 
 
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 12, 2017

As U.S.-backed Iraqi forces close in, IS leader al-Baghdadi is thought to have fled Mosul

U.S. and Iraqi officials believe Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State militant group, has left operational commanders behind with die-hard followers to fight the battle of Mosul, and is now hiding out in the desert, focusing mainly on his own survival.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 11, 2017

Cherry blossom season is the perfect time to visit Japan

If Japan is on your bucket list, there's at least a strong chance that you're thinking of going during cherry blossom season.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 11, 2017

The first missteps for Japan's first lady

On Feb. 27, Democratic Party lawmaker Kiyomi Tsujimoto submitted questions to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party about the activities of Akie Abe, the wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in regard to her relationship with Moritomo Gakuen, a controversial corporate body that wants to build an elementary...
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Mar 11, 2017

Talented, youthful Dutch squad no longer a secret

Wladimir Balentien, the affable slugging outfielder for the Netherlands and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, said he knew the young group of players darting around the infield for the Dutch during the World Baseball Classic four years ago were going to be special.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 11, 2017

Newcomer Nakamura notches first goal in Jubilo's first victory of season

Shunsuke Nakamura scored a trademark free kick and Kengo Kawamata also hit the target as Jubilo Iwata beat Omiya Ardija 2-1 on Saturday to claim their first win of the J. League season.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 10, 2017

Are indoor farms the next step in the evolution of agriculture?

You've probably heard of farm-to-table, or even farm-to-fork, agricultural movements that emphasize the connection between producers and consumers. But what about factory farm-to-table?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2017

North Korea doesn't belong on state terrorism list

The U.S. and its allies should respond to what Pyongyang is rather than what it isn't.
Reader Mail
Mar 10, 2017

Ishihara's 'Trump move' over Toyosu

Ever since Yuriko Koike took over as governor of Tokyo, she's had to deal with incompetence passed down from her predecessors. The fish market move from Tsukiji to Toyosu is no exception.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2017

A U.S.-China currency deal can avert trade war

A new Plaza Accord can benefit both the U.S. and China, and deliver Trump his first foreign policy victory.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Mar 8, 2017

Hall of Fame boss Idelson deepening understanding of Japan baseball

Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, has spoken to groups of kids before.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2017

Putin's dance with the Taliban

One of the Kremlin's latest geostrategic targets is Afghanistan, where the U.S. remains embroiled in the longest war in its history.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AFTEREFFECTS OF MARCH 2011
Mar 7, 2017

Tsunami-hit Rikuzentakata rebuilding on raised ground, hoping to thrive anew

This is the first of a four-part series looking at the lasting impact of the March 11, 2011, disasters.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 7, 2017

Top China official says Beijing has right to 'step in' to Hong Kong election

China's third most powerful leader said Monday that Beijing has the right to "step in" to Hong Kong's leadership contest, according to local politicians who met him, in remarks fueling fears of meddling from Communist Party leaders.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Mar 7, 2017

Honda prepping for world juniors with legend Zoueva

Reigning world junior champion Marin Honda traveled to Canton, Michigan, recently to spend time working with coach and choreographer Marina Zoueva at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena. Honda is tuning up for defense of her title at the world junior championships in Taipei this month.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2017

Abe says latest North Korean missile launch represents 'new level of threat'

North Korea demonstrated its growing military capabilities with the launch of four ballistic missiles Monday, three of which fell into the Sea of Japan, in what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe characterized as "a new level of threat."
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2017

A rising power without allies

The more power China has accumulated, the greater has been its difficulty in gaining genuine allies — underscoring that leadership demands more than brute might.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2017

What liberal world order?

As global power has shifted from the West to the 'rest,' the liberal world order has become an increasingly contested idea, with rising powers like Russia, China and India increasingly challenging Western perspectives.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2017

Kim assassination a wake-up call

North Korea is not a curiosity to ignore, it is a danger to be confronted.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2017

Innovation attractive to international tech firms

Saitama City, just 20 to 30 minutes by train to central Tokyo hubs such as Tokyo and Shinjuku stations, boasts many leading technology companies that produce key components and materials for high-technology machines.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 5, 2017

Actress Haruka Abe balances others' expectations and her own dreams

It can be tough to catch a break in the world of acting, but Haruka Abe got a boost when cellist Grace Chatto of British dance-pop act Clean Bandit sent her a message over Facebook.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Mar 4, 2017

Will we ever see no obstacles in our way?

Infrastructure in Japan is up to world standards in most areas, and in terms of public transportation it often surpasses those standards — but there's one field it falls way behind: utility poles and overhead cables that carry electrical power and telecommunications.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 4, 2017

Culture and commerce thrive under Japan's elevated train tracks

At dusk, the bars and restaurants that crowd the underside of the tracks at Yurakucho Station come alive.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 4, 2017

Japan's magazines get misty-eyed over Showa Era brothels

Commencing with the death of Emperor Taisho on Christmas Day, 1926, the Showa Era ran for 62 years and two weeks, ending with the death of Emperor Hirohito (posthumously referred to as Emperor Showa) at the age of 87 on Jan. 7, 1989.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 4, 2017

'Comfort women' in South Korea who serviced U.S. forces seek justice

Historical 'comfort women' cases involving Japanese and U.S. forces should be mutually reinforcing and underscore the ongoing need to hold Tokyo, Seoul and Washington accountable in ways that address the traumas and indignities endured.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Mar 4, 2017

Macaques might make monkeys of us all

In 1980, when I came to live here in Kurohime in the hills of northern Nagano Prefecture, we had neither deer, wild boar nor monkeys in this area because — so the locals said — there was too much snow in winter for them to find enough food to survive.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 4, 2017

Reds bounce back against Cerezo

Urawa Reds picked up their first points of the new J. League season with a 3-1 win over Cerezo Osaka on Saturday.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic